Conservatives mock Gore on snowfall

With the nation’s capital buried in several feet of snow and the federal government brought to a halt by Mother Nature, conservatives are mocking former Vice President Al Gore and his crusade to curb global climate change.

But the historic snowfall in Washington — coinciding with a push from Democrats to enact legislation capping carbon emissions — has left conservatives crowing that fears of environmental catastrophe make no sense.

Most climate scientists would disagree with the two senators — both of whom are frequent critics of cap-and-trade legislation — pointing to numerous studies indicating that carbon emissions have contributed to rising global temperatures.

The left-leaning group Media Matters wrote in its blog Tuesday that “conservative media figures have used the recent snowstorms in the Washington, D.C., area to level more science-free attacks on global warming.”

But criticism of the position has not deterred global warming deniers from using an unusually snowy winter in Washington to bash Gore.

Conservative talk show host Sean Hannity brought up the former vice president while introducing a story about the massive snowfall during his Fox News show Monday.

“It’s the most severe winter storm in years, which would seem to contradict Al Gore’s hysterical global warming theories,” Hannity said.

And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich mocked Gore on Twitter on Saturday after the first full day of snow.

“Historic snowstorm in Washington — third this year — where is Al Gore to explain it snows this heavily as a sign global warming is imminent,” the former Georgia Republican wrote.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin also made waves this week for disputing global climate change but without pointing directly to Gore.

During a speech Monday in California, Palin called evidence of global warming a “bunch of snake oil science.”

Palin made the claim during a closed-door speech. The Associated Press bought a ticket to the event and reported on it.

She recalled an episode during her time as governor in which the listing of polar bears as threatened by global warming under the Endangered Species Act disrupted the planning for a gas pipeline through Alaska’s coastal waters.

Palin remembered that the threat to polar bears was going “to shut down a lot of our development.”

“And it didn't make any sense because it was based on these global warming studies that now we're seeing [is] a bunch of snake oil science,” she said.